Samhain Empowerment

Channelled by:-
Sinead Walkinshaw

Samhain / Halloween.
It is one of the major times of the year that conjure up many
images, regardless of the path you walk :- witches flying on
broomsticks, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, apple bobbing, trick or
treat, dressing up, Halloween bonfires and more. It is a celebration
that has passed through time, faiths and generations.
With this Empowerment, I am going to include more witchcraft stuf
than usual as it is such an important festival.
It is the start of the wheel of the year- be you wicca and following
the eightfold path, or celtic and following the four fire festivals (of
which this is the first) or other ways. Regardless, this is an
important festival and one which all celebrate, even though they
may miss others or mark them in minor or alternate ways.
It is known by many names :-
Allantide (Cornish), All-Hallow's Tide ("Alhalwyn-tyd," Germanic), All
Souls' Day (Christian), Calan Gaeaf or Hollantide (Welsh),
Halloween (secular American), Kala-Goanv (Breton), Sauin (Manx),
Samhain (Modern Irish), Samhiunn (Scottish Gaelic), Trinouxtion
Samonii (Gaulish from the Coligny Calendar), Sambain, Samhein,
Samain, Samonios, Samhuinn, Samfhuin, La Samon, Shadowfest,
All Hallow's Eve, Martinmas, Hallowmas, Blood Harvest, Third
Harvest, November Eve, Ancestor Night, Nos Galon Gaeof, (Feast of
the Dead.)

It is often seen as the second spirit night of the year, being the
opposite of Beltaine the beginning of summer.
As you can see it has many names, indeed far more than the other
festivals and this too shows how it has crossed time and faiths.

For the Celts it is the start of the New Year. It is the most magickal
night of the year when the time of the Cailleach and winter begins.
The doors of the Sidhe are open and the veil between the worlds is
the thinnest; a time when we remember our ancestors. It usually
starts at sunset on October 30st and lasts until sunset on October
31st. Although some celebrate this day and on the full moon closest
to this day, whereas others have a weeks celebration. It all depends
on path and person (and of course family!) as it is so very very hard
to work out calendars for the time and the dates the olde ones
took. Any time around this date is used for like all things, it is the
intention behind workings that is the most important.
As the Celtic New Year, it is a time when we look to the ending of
the old year and welcome the new.

Samhain History
For the ancient Irish, it was the most important time of the year,
the final harvest, the cattle culled and all stored for the coming
winter and the new year when they celebrated the ending of the
old year and the beginning of the new.
This dark time of the year had many magickal ties- they believed
the gates to the Otherworld were thrown open and the Sidhe
mounds opened, with the passages lit so the dead could find their
way to this world. It was now that the Wild Hunt was supposed to
occur with a procession of animals, fairies, and spirits.
Wild Hunt
This is a supernatural hunt that myths has occurring across Europe.
Celtic Britain says Cerunnos leads, turning in latter years to Herne
the Hunter, in Wales it is led by Gwyn ap Nudd, and sometimes
Bran, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag and in Germany Woden. It
is basically a hunt with hounds and spirits, with humans in danger
of kidnap if they get in their way.
Lets take the Celtic Irish version. The Wild Hunt lives in forested
area near Tir Na Og. The forest here is very diferent from forests
in other realms being much more dense, unsettled and tangled.
This place is known as the Stalking Grounds. This is an area
designed for the hunt and kill. The Wild Hunt roams these woods
and track anything they can find. Sometimes the Hunt breaks into
smaller groups to hunt alone, joining up to the mass later. The
Stalking Ground is deceiving as it looks small and able to be
crossed quickly. However anyone entering is in great danger as
then they become fair prey to the Wild Hunt. And if one becomes
prey, the Stalking Grounds all of a sudden become much bigger. If
the Hunt have not got their prey after a few days they give up and
then the borders of the Stalking Ground can be found. I caught they
risk being torn apart by the hounds or the huntsman. If one is killed
however, they rise the following day fully healed and better than
before. However this person can no longer leave the Stalking
Grounds which become infinite in size. But the Hunt never leaves
the Stalking Grounds even when summoned although they
duplicate themselves and go to all planes and realms they are
summoned to. This is the Celtic Irish version as told to me by my
Grandma.

The Gauls
They divided the year into two halves:- the dark or winter half being
Sam or Samonios, and the light half Gam or in Latin Gamonios .
Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars says-
Book 6
Chapter 18
All the Gauls assert that they are descended from the god Dis, and
say that this tradition has been handed down by the Druids. For
that reason they compute the divisions of every season, not by the
number of days, but of nights; they keep birthdays and the
beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day
follows the night.

The Roman Festival of Pomona

When the Romans conquered the Celtic lands just before the birth
of Christ, they brought many of their gods and goddesses with
them.One was Pomona, goddess of the harvest, whose day was 1 st
November. Apples, nuts and fruits were asscociated with her hence
maybe their appearance in Samhain.

Christianity
When Christianity reached our shores they were not going to allow
a festival for all the dead as this was seen as evil. So instead only
the blessed dead, all those hallowed (made holy) by obedience to
God - thus, All Hallow's, or Hallowmas, later All Saints and All Souls.
But ultimately this is an ancient Celtic Festival, so lets take a look
at that aspect.
The earliest reference to this appears in the Coligny Calender with
a month called Samnios where commenced with three days called
the Trinouxtion Samonii, the Three Nights of the End of Summer.
So this festival marked the seasonal transition from Summer to
Winter and as such all festivals, meetings and gatherings would
stop for the winter, so this was the last chance to celebrate!
We can see in mythical terms that the youthful goddess of summer
gave way to the withered hag of winter and with that came the
disappearance of fruits and flowers for cold, bleakness and
barreness. This was shown at Tara by a great feast, the Feis
Teamrach, or Mating of Tara,in which the King was symbolically
with the soverign goddess. This came from the coupling of Morrigan
with Dagda on the eve of the Battle of Mag Tuired.
This can be found here-
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cmt/cmteng.htm

As this was the last celebration before the onset of winter, there
was great tribal gatherings, feasting, games and amusements and
a last chance to settle arguments and debts. Great oferings were
also made at lakes and Sidhe Mounds as a mark of respect. There
were also horse races and great feats of strength in fact, all types
of merrymaking. Due to the cold, there were great fires lit but these
were also sacred bonfires, lit by the Druids all over Ireland. There is
a tale that the first fire was lit at on the hilltop of Tlachtga, where it
would be easily visible from Tara. Alongside this there was a ritual
called lating the witches. This was a solemn candlelit procession
which was designed to find dark magic. If a candle flickered or died
during the procession it meant the person carrying the candle was
a victim of witches and special measures were taken to protect that
person.
There was also left a fairy tax. As the Tuatha de Danaan were
known to be abroad this night, gifts of bread and milk were left
honoring the ancient agreement between the Milesian Celts and
the members of the Otherworld.
In the story The Wooing of Emer
the heroine refers to the
(http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/emer.html)

festival of Samhain as when summer goes to its rest.

This was seen as a time of the thinning of the veils between the
two worlds (Beltainne being the other one) and was a traditional
time for divination and prophecy and an auspicious time for
sacrifice. It was also held that at this time one could enter the
Otherworld or when some of the Otherworld made journeys (for
good or bad) to the living.
So how does all this transfer into modern day?

Halloween Folklore / Customs

Nutcrack Night
An old name for Halloween is Nutcrack Night, so named because
today is associated with many customs including cracking nuts.
Bobbing for apples, and finding one's future lover through certain
rites are also Nutcrack Night traditions, the former having been
passed onto today's Halloween customs. (This is where Pomona is
incorporated possibly.)

Second Sight
Scottish tradition says that those born on Halloween have the gift
of second sight, or clairvoyance.
Jumping Nuts
An old Irish Halloween custom was when young women wanted to
know if their lovers were faithful.They used to put nuts on the fire
grate, naming the nuts after the two lovers. If a nut jumped or
cracked, it meant the man would prove unfaithful. If the nut
burned, it meant he loved the woman. If both nuts burned together,
it meant the couple would be married. This is still done in some
parts of Ireland where the old ways are still practiced (with the
motto:- just dont tell the priest!)

Love Charms
Many old British customs from Halloween were associated with
love-far to many to mention here, so shall give a sample! Young
women would cut bracken above the root to divine the first letter of
the name of their lover-to-be. Another method was to blow the fluf
of a dandelion, with the number of blows equalling the number of
years the girl would have to wait for love.In another charm, a girl
went into the garden at midnight and plucked twelve leaves of
sage. She was then sure to see the image of her lover-to-be in the
shadows.

Apple Bobbing
The familiar Halloween custom of apple bobbing goes back
centuries. In the north of England the game was to bite an apple
that was stuck on a hanging beam; the player had the hands tied
behind the back. On the other end of the beam was stuck a lighted
candle. When the beam rotated, the trick was to bite and not be
burned. This has been adapted over the years to the apple bobbing
we know!
Mirror, Mirror
An old Halloween custom (told me by my husbands Scottish Gran!)
from the west of Scotland was a woman wanting to know about her
hoped-for lover. She would eat an apple at a mirror, while combing
her hair. Her lover's face would appear in the mirror over her
shoulder, or, so it is said.

Halloween Bonfires
At Callander, Scotland, in times long gone, bonfires were always lit
on Halloween. When the ashes were cold, they were arranged in a
circle and a marked stone for each person put in the middle. In the
morning, any moved stone indicated the death within a year of that
person. Magic ceremonies were then performed by Druid priests to
counteract the evil of witches and demons.

Welsh Halloween
In old Wales on Halloween, boys and girls used to seek out a sprig
of ash. The first to find one called out Cyniver. The first of the other
sex that found a sprig would answer the same, and these two were
eventually to marry.

Welsh Bonfires
In North Wales, on Halloween, a large fire, called a Coel Coeth, was
made near each house. Villagers used to run through the bonfire,
escaping from an imaginary black, short-tailed sow. A white stone
for each person was marked and thrown into the fire.Then, after
prayers before the fire, the people went to bed. If any stone was
missing in the morning, it was a sign that the person for whom the
stone was marked would not live until next October 31.

Jack-o'-lantern
I daresay there are many legends as to the derivation of this, but
here I will give you what my Grandma taught me. Stingy Jack was
an Irishman in olde times who invited the Devil to have a drink with
him. When the Devil turned up, Stingy Jack did not want to pay so
he tricked the Devil into turning himself into a coin that Jack could
use to buy the drinks. Jack put the coin that was the Devil into his
pocket next to a silver cross so that the Devil could not change
back to his normal form. Eventually, Jack freed the Devil but made
sure that Jack would not be bothered by him for one year or claim
his soul. But should Jack die the Devil would come for him.The next
year Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree to pick some fruit
and when he did, Jack carved a cross into the tree trunk so the
Devil could not come down. Jack made him promise not to bother
him for ten years, then he let the Devil down. Soon after, Jack died
and God would not allow such an awful man into heaven. The Devil
was very upset, but kept to his end of the deal not to claim Jacks
soul but he would alos not allow Jack into hell. So he sent Jack of
into the night with only a burning coal to show him the way. Jack
put the coal in a carved out turnip and has been wandering the
earth ever since. My Grandma used to tell me this as a little girl
with the lights of in front of the coal fire and it frightened the
daylights out of me and have never forgotten a word of it since!

The Spirit World

People were often warned that if they heard footsteps behind them
on the night of Samhain, they shouldn't turn back because it may
be a spirit following them.
It was believed that ringing a bell on Samhain kept away evil
spirits.
Burying animal bones in front of your house on the night of
Samhain will keep evil away, according to some legends of eastern
Europe.
Black cats were once seen as bad luck.
If the bats come out early on Samhain night, and fly around, it
means good weather is coming.
Some people believe that if you see a spider on Samhain, it holds
the spirit of a dead ancestor, watching you... so don't squash it!
Dumb Supper
I am not sure what time this practice arose, some say from early
times while others from medieval. In the usual dumb supper a table
and feast is prepared with places set for the living and dead. You
can do general ancestors or those who have died in the last year.
The places set for the dead are filled with their favourite food.
Prayers are said and candles passed around the table. The meal
carries on with communion with the dead. If you have not the space
for this, you can write the names of the dead from this year and/or
ancestors and place it on your altar. (Some have a year round
ancestor altar.)

Trick or Treat
This is a major tradition on Halloween where children dress up and
go from house to house saying trick or treat, gathering sweets.
Many think this started as an American tradition, but in old Celtic
times, villagers used to disguise themselves in costumes to drive
away unwanted visitors from the Otherworld. In the Middle Ages
this transformed to mumming a time when some would perfom
tricks for food and drink. In Christian times (about the 9th Century)
we can trace this back to All Souls Parade where poorer people
would beg food of the richer and these became known as soul
cakes.In exchange they would pray for the dead relatives of that
household.(And in this of course we see the ancient custom coming
forth of leaving food for the dead.) This was later taken up by
children and in time the prayers were dropped to become the
asking for food and drink, then sweets to become the trick or treat
we know today. There have been many scares over the years with
tainted sweets and the danger of children calling to houses .
Usually now people tend to do it in smaller areas where they are
known or for smaller children, taking them outside the house and
knocking on their own front door for trick or treat. It can be adapted
in many ways.
Divination
This is a major part of this festival and any type can be carried out,
whatever the individual feels strongest with :- mediums, tarot
cards, crystal gazing, dowsing, numerology, palm reading- I can go
on forever, but you know what I mean! As the veil is at the thinnest
this is an ideal time to cross over or to see what one can get from
the Otherworld.

Associations
Colours: black, orange, deep browns, umbers, colours found in
autumn leaves., gold, orange, red, silver, yellow, white.

Candles: Goddess - Black, God-Orange.

Altar Cloth: Black, Orange with a Black runner, or perhaps an

autumn themed table cloth.

Herbs: autumn leaves and flowers such as chrysanthemum,

marigold, cypress, pine, myrrh, hazel, nuts, pumpkins, gourds,
squash, Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade,
Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Stones: obsidian, onyx, hematite, black and pink tourmaline,

Apache tear, jet, Amethyst, asbestos, beryl, bloodstone cats eye,
coal, coral, carnelian, danburite, fossil, herkimer, jasper, jet,
marble, mother of pearl, petrified wood, pumice, quartz, rhodonite,
smoky quartz, salt.

Foods: bread, apples, pomegranates, nuts, turnips, beets, pumpkin,

squash, & meat dishes.
Ritual Drink: apple cider, hard cider, apple jack, pomegranate juice.

Herbal And Botanical Associations:Apple, cedar, cherry, elder,

eucalyptus, holly, horse chestnut, lime, orange, palm-date, oak,
peach, pear, pine, plum, quince, rowan, sandalwood, willow, witch
hazel, african violet, agaric, blackberry, blueberry, cinnamon,
coconut, cuckoo-flower, cyclamen, deerstongue, devils bit,
elderflower, garlic, ginger, grape, hemp, huckleberry, kalbs cross,
lavender, liquorice, mandrake, mint, myrrh, nettle, nightshade,
pineapple, pomegranate, raspberry, rhubarb, safron, sage,
sarsaparilla, sassafras, sloe, star anise, strawberry, sugar cane, tea,
tobacco, vanilla, witch grass, wolfsbane.

Deity associations: Any figure of the goddess in her crone aspect,

as well as gods of death; such as: Hecate (goddess of fertility,
moon magick, and the witches protectress, Morrigan (celtic godess
of death, Cernunnos (celtic fertility god), Persephone (Greek
goddess who dies and is reborn every year after being tricked by
Hades), Arawn (Welsh king of hel), Gywnn ap Nudd (king of faeries
and of the underworld), Macha(Irish mother of life and death, one
of the triple goddesses of morrigu), Scathach/Scota and Osiris
(Egyptian god who dies and is reborn every year; Anubis,
Arianrhod, Astarte, Baba Yaga Beansidhe (Banshee), Belili, Bran,
Cailleach Beara, Cernunnos, Cerridwen, Crone , Demeter, Hathor,
Hecate, Horned God, Inanna, Ishtar, Isis, Kali, Kore, Lakshmi, Lilith,
The Morrigan, Nephthys, Odin, Osiris, Oya, Pomona, Rhiannon,
Tlazoteotl.

Incense associations:Cedar, cinnamon, eucalyptus, ginger,

lavender, lime, mint, myrrh, orange, sagebrush, sandalwood, copal,
mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, or
patchouli.
Food and Beverage associations: Apples, apple dishes, cider, meat
(traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider
with spices, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin
bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin
seeds, squash, corn, cranberry muffins and breads, turnips, beets,
ale, herbal tea (mugwort)

Symbolic representations: apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat,

black cat, bones, corn stalks, cauldrons, colored leaves, crows,
death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts,
gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts , oak leaves,
pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon.

Animal Associations: Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram,

scorpion, heron, crow, robin.

Mythical Associations: Phooka, Goblin, Medusa, Beansidhe, Fylgiar,

Peryton, Erlkonig, and Harpie

Other Associations/Activities:
-Third & Final Harvest (NO harvesting after Samhain)
-The Death of the God
-Seen & Unseen Worlds are closest together, veil is thin between
the world of the living and the world of the dead.
-Celtic New year
-Popular time for initiation rituals in some traditions
-Time to honour ancestors
-Set a place and make a plate at your dinner table for those who
have passed
-Leave food outside for the dead
-Banishings traditionally are worked on this Sabbat
-In some traditions, Samhain may be celebrated in three nights:
1) to honor the plants that have died
2) to honor the animals that have died
3) to honor the ancestors who have died

Spells for Halloween.

All love spells, protection spells ;spells for all negativity, be it evil,
harm, corruption,or greed; make resolutions and banish
weaknesses for the forthcoming year and burn them in a candle
flame;try to reach out to our ancestors for ancient knowledge;
meditation and astral projection.

Rituals.
There are many types one can perform, from a group with chanting
and quarter calling to an individual ritual around your own altar. Or
even both! The choice is yours- listen to your inner voice.

Family Activities on Halloween

Make and decorate your own Jack O Lantern.
Make a Broomstick/Besom.
Set up Apple Bobbing.
Go trick or treating.
Have a Halloween party.
Make Halloween quizzes.
Paint faces and dress up.
Bake Halloween recipes.
Halloween crafts- make your own spiders, bats etc.
For smaller children, print of some colouring pages.
Keep the old stories alive with story telling.

Samhain Recipes.
Pumpkin Bread
3 1/3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Pinch powdered Cloves
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking powder
+ NOTE: Dry roasting the herbs in a pan for a few mins, just until
you can smell them, with give you a MUCH more flavorful end result
4 Eggs
1 cup Vegetable oil
2/3 cup Water
1 15 oz Can of Pumpkin
Or you can roast or boil fresh pumpkin 15 oz
1 cup walnuts or Pecans (optional)
Beat wet ingredients, eggs, add oil and water.In another bowl mix
dry ingredients, flour, sugar, salt and spices.Make a well of the dry
and gradually add wet ingredients. Mix and pour into greased loaf
pans (pound cake size)Preheated oven at 350 for 1 hour.
Yields 2 -3 breads

Rememberance Cookies
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1 1/2 T. chopped fresh rosemary (substitute dry)
Please note: Small - t - = TEASPOON, big -T- = TABLESPOON
Heat oven 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg,
vanilla, almond extract, and rosemary until creamy. In a separate
bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Fold flour mixture
into sugar mixture. Beat until dough forms and refrigerate for three
hours. Divide dough into halves. Roll out one portion to 3/16 of an
inch on a floured surface. Cut out with gingerbread women or men
cutters and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Repeat rolling
and cutting with second portion of dough. Bake for 5-7 minutes. You
can also punch a hole in top of each cookie with a wooden skewer
(BEFORE baking) and thread black ribbon through, these can be
hung for decorations, or top gifts

MULLED CIDER WITH SPICES

4-5 cups apple cider
3-4 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
In a large saucepan, heat cider, but do not boil.

Soul Cakes
Traditionally these were flat round cakes flavoured with safron,
mixed spices and currants.
150g butter
150g caster sugar
560g plain flour, sifted
3 egg yolks
generous pinch of safron
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 tsp allspice
3 tbsp currants
2 tsp milk
Crush the safron in a pestle and mortar, add the milk and grind to
combine. Sift together the flour and remaining spices into a bowl.
In the meantime, cream together the butter and sugar until pale
and flufy. Beat the egg yolks and add to the creamed mixture a
little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sifted flour
and spice mix and stir in the currants. Add the milk and safron
mixture and enough additional milk to form a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and shape into flat
cakes about 5 or 6cm in diameter. Transfer to a well-buttered
baking tray and place in an oven pre-heated to 180C and bake for
about 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Allow to cool on the
tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Barmbrack
The Traditional Bread of Halloween and Samhain.
Barmbrack is a traditional Celtic bread served during Samhain with
tea, and is the centre of a divinatory ritual for the coming year. To
make a traditional Barmbrack, trinkets and charms are always
added into the mixture. You can add your own charms and
meanings and these should be used as a part of your Samhain
traditions. Each charm should be wrapped carefully in wax paper
and placed equally through the bread before its final rise.
Remember, when choosing to add charms to your Barmbrack, be
certain to warn your guests before consuming!
1cup of Orange Spice tea, prepared
4 cups white flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick butter
1 package of yeast
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp white sugar
1 1/4 cups luke-warm milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried fruit
The evening before, soak the raisins and dried fruit in the brown
sugar and tea. Drain before using.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Sift flour, spices and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter.
2. Add the yeast to the teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of the
warm milk.
3. Pour the rest of the warm milk and the egg into the yeast
mixture and combine with the dry ingredients and the sugar. Beat
well and knead until the batter is stif but elastic.
4. Fold in the prepared fruit. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and
leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled. Knead again for
another 2 or 3 minutes and divide between two greased 1 1b loaf
pans.
5. Wrap the charms in greaseproof paper and then hide them in the
dough. Be sure they are well distributed. Cover again and let rise
until the dough comes up to the top of the pan (30 minutes to an
hour).
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, until the top is nicely
browned and the bread sounds hollow when thumped.
Keeps about one week in a sealed container, but do note: Stale
Barmbrack is still delicious when toasted and buttered!

Samhain Incense Recipes.

Recipe 1
1 Part Frankincense
1 Part Myrrh
1/2 Mugwort
1/4 Rosemary
1/4 patchouli Leaf
1/4 Nettle
Pinch of sandalwood
Pinch of cinnamon
Recipe 2
1 ounce Vervain
1 ounce Pine
1 ounce White Oak Bark
1 ounce Corn Flowers
1 ounce Frankincense
1 ounce Patchouli
2 ounce Charcoal
2 tsps Table Salt
1 tsp Saltpeter

Recipe 3
1 tsp. sage (dried crushed leaves if possible)
2 tsp. myrrh
2 tsp. mugwort
1 bay leaf (dried)
3 drops sandalwood oil
2 drops vetiver oil

Recipe 4
3 Parts Frankincense
2 parts Myrrh
1 Part Rosemary
1 Part Cedar
1 Part Juniper

Recipe 5
3 parts Rosemary
3 parts Pine
3 parts Bay
3 parts Apple
2 drops Patchouli Oil
2 parts Cinnamon
1 part ground cloves
1 part Dragon's Blood resin
1 part Hyssop
1 part Patchouli
2 parts Rosemary
1 part Sage
A dash of sea salt

Crush all ingredients together using a

Mortar and Pestle . Burn on lit charcoal
in a fire proof container.

Samhain Oils.
Recipe 1
3 drops cedarwood
3 drops clove
3 drops frankincense
3 drops patchouli
3 drops rosemary
Add a piece of dried marigold and three dried pumpkin seeds with
obsidian, amber, and ruby crystals. THis is a light and dark oil that
captures all the mystery and ambience of this special night of
meditation.

Recipe 2
Samhain Oil
3 drops Rosemary oil
3 drops Pine oil
3 drops Bay oil
3 drops Apple oil
2 drops Patchouli oil
Use almond oil as the base.

Recipe 3
4 drops Pine Oil
2 drops Frankincense oil
2 drops Patchouli oil
2 drops Lavender oil
Blend with 1 oz Olive oil in bottle. Anoint on altar and candles.
Recipe 4
3 drops cedarwood
3 drops clove
3 drops rosemary
3 drops patchouli
3 drops frankincense

This is from Gerina Dunwich, but I make this every year, some for
myself and some wrapped up appropriately for witch friends
imbued with whatever that person needs the most.
Samhain Ritual Potpourri
by Gerina Dunwich
45 drops patchouli oil
1 cup oak moss
2 cups dried apple blossoms
2 cups dried heather flowers
1 cup dried and chopped apple peel
1 cup dried pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried and chopped mandrake root
Mix the patchouli oil with the oak moss, and then add the
remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly
covered ceramic or glass container.
I have gone into a lot more detail with this festival as it is a major
one in the pagan calendar. (Plus it is my favourite!)
To Call in the Attunement
To call in the attunement get yourself ready in your usual manner
and sayI am now ready to receive my attunement to Samhain
Empowerment from Sinead Walkinshaw.

To Pass the Attunement

To Pass the attunement to others, get yourself ready in your usual
manner and say- I now pass the Samhain Attunement to _________.
I hope you enjoy the wonderful energies of this festival and
however you choose to celebrate, be blessed and joyous and may
abundant blessings of positivity and prosperity be yours for this
New Year.
Enjoy!

Sinead Walkinshaw